Best performing cryptocurrencies of 2021
31 large cryptocurrencies with price data from the first week of 2021, ranked by their calendar-year change (from the last weekly close of 2020). 30 of 31 ended the year up.
| # | Coin | Start of 2021 | End of year | 2021 change | From Jan 2021 to today |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Solana (SOL) | $2.18 | $176 | +7,997.2% | +3,317.8% |
| 2 | Avalanche (AVAX) | $3.47 | $113 | +3,158.2% | +70.2% |
| 3 | Dogecoin (DOGE) | $0.00982090 | $0.1745 | +1,676.8% | +862.2% |
| 4 | BNB (BNB) | $41.26 | $531 | +1,187.0% | +1,708.1% |
| 5 | Artificial Superintelligence Alliance (FET) | $0.0567 | $0.5661 | +898.2% | +235.2% |
| 6 | NEAR Protocol (NEAR) | $1.47 | $14.38 | +878.0% | +198.4% |
| 7 | Hedera (HBAR) | $0.0331 | $0.3121 | +844.3% | +113.4% |
| 8 | Curve DAO (CRV) | $0.6770 | $6.04 | +792.3% | -48.7% |
| 9 | Cardano (ADA) | $0.2062 | $1.38 | +568.0% | -18.2% |
| 10 | Cosmos Hub (ATOM) | $5.83 | $35.53 | +509.5% | -72.5% |
| 11 | Ethereum Classic (ETC) | $6.57 | $35.41 | +439.1% | +0.9% |
| 12 | Stacks (STX) | $0.4818 | $2.40 | +397.7% | -17.7% |
| 13 | Algorand (ALGO) | $0.4253 | $1.67 | +293.5% | -72.1% |
| 14 | Ethereum (ETH) | $978 | $3,828 | +291.3% | +114.4% |
| 15 | XRP (XRP) | $0.2254 | $0.8586 | +280.9% | +373.4% |
| 16 | Uniswap (UNI) | $5.52 | $18.40 | +233.6% | +50.5% |
| 17 | VeChain (VET) | $0.0262 | $0.0871 | +232.3% | -67.2% |
| 18 | Polkadot (DOT) | $10.13 | $29.69 | +193.1% | -86.8% |
| 19 | Aave (AAVE) | $93.78 | $265 | +182.9% | +30.0% |
| 20 | TRON (TRX) | $0.0295 | $0.0776 | +163.2% | +929.0% |
| 21 | Zcash (ZEC) | $59.35 | $153 | +157.8% | +1,368.0% |
| 22 | JUST (JST) | $0.0241 | $0.0572 | +137.7% | +409.1% |
| 23 | Tezos (XTZ) | $2.13 | $4.65 | +118.0% | -88.4% |
| 24 | Stellar (XLM) | $0.1365 | $0.2921 | +113.9% | -21.3% |
| 25 | Injective (INJ) | $4.43 | $8.55 | +93.1% | +70.4% |
| 26 | Filecoin (FIL) | $21.43 | $35.74 | +66.8% | -95.6% |
| 27 | Chainlink (LINK) | $13.68 | $21.87 | +59.9% | -12.0% |
| 28 | Dash (DASH) | $89.65 | $142 | +58.4% | -59.1% |
| 29 | Bitcoin (BTC) | $33,000 | $47,286 | +43.3% | +119.2% |
| 30 | Bitcoin Cash (BCH) | $424 | $448 | +5.7% | -48.8% |
| 31 | Litecoin (LTC) | $161 | $151 | -6.2% | -60.4% |
Only coins with a USDT market on Binance from the first week of 2021 are included, which excludes assets launched later in the year. Ranking reflects past prices only and says nothing about future performance.
Figures are derived from weekly closing prices (USDT pairs, Binance public market data, latest point refreshed daily): highs and lows are the highest/lowest weekly close, not intraday extremes. Informational only — not financial advice. Methodology.
FAQ
Which cryptocurrency performed best in 2021?
Among the 31 large cryptocurrencies tracked here with data from the start of 2021, Solana (SOL) had the highest calendar-year return: +7,997.2%.
Which crypto performed worst in 2021?
Litecoin (LTC) had the weakest return at -6.2%. 30 of 31 coins finished the year in positive territory.
Did altcoins beat Bitcoin in 2021?
28 of the 30 other coins in this list did better than Bitcoin's +43.3% in 2021.
Other years
2019 · 2020 · 2022 · 2023 · 2024 · 2025 · 2026
Data updated: 2026-10-01 09:08 UTC.